Showing posts with label folkloric dance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label folkloric dance. Show all posts

Saturday, September 22, 2018

25 Yards Gypsy Skirt Q n A

I get a lot of similar questions about my Gypsy Skirt stuff. It baffles me still because it was very common & popular  stuff in the mid-late Bush Era and even still in the early Obama Era as well.

People that often do recognize this style often tell me it looks San Franciscan.

I will also post this to my Pirate Wench OC Cosplay Page.


Surely, THIS will address ALL the usual questions ANYONE could possibly ask, AND HAS:

How to tuck your skirt: 
Go Tuck Yourself!








Make Your Own if u have the Patience


Typical ATS/Tribal and other Gypsy Skirt steps & moves:










Folkloric Bellydance Steps:


Female Culture was massively suppressed in many forms, as were "Gypsy", or Romani, or Bohemians/Boheme. I also noticed no one ever gets upset if you say Gypsy in German which is: Zigeuner, Zigeunerin (female Gypsy), or Zigeunerjunge (Gypsy-boy).

Much of my style has roots in Raqs Sharqi (Belly Dance) as other Tribal styles.

But the most modern versions are Folkloric & ATS which were made from a bunch of ancient styles in the USA. Most notably were Bal Anat and Fat Chance Bellydance which was the origin of American Tribal Style (ATS) which altho borrows from all over the world and history as well as prehistory, but is totally made up as a new style. From that brnched Tribal Fusion. Tribal Fusion is my favorite, but I also studied Raqs Sharqi including Arabic & Turkish, but also Egyptian, and North African.




Gypsy is often referred to as Romani in modern times, but can have any number of meanings. It's often considdered as an offensive word, even tho their own ancesters called themselves this and claimed they were from Egypt even tho they were from India. Romani/Gypsies were notrious for making trouble, and I've read several books about them in actual libraries about their cultures. They have a different view on life and the world, and even things like personal property. Today, most Romani are forced to live in modern neighborhoods in many nations by governments, so they do.

Altho the term Gypsy is often viewed as derogatory to many people these days, it's odd that the term Boheme or Bohemian is not, because its the exact same thing. But the word Gypsy can also mean a free spirit or wanderluster. I personally never viewed this term as hateful nor ugly like other racial words, but some people seriously get upset about it. So, I don;t want to hurt people. I often use the word Boho or Bohemian instead. This word has also evolved several definitions as well.

There's no 1 specific type of "Gypsy" or Romani, and there's so many varieties in many nations, and they had also changed and evolved.

A lot of people like to freak out about "Cultural Appropriation" but many of these dance forms were actually cultivated by women whom have heritage in those ethnic groups, and much like Bruce Lee felt the desire to "teach anyone who wants to learn" in order to earn a living.




ATS Dance

Tribal Fusion Utilizing Authentic Gypsy Romani Style moves & Steps:



This one is a personal favorite of mine making use of Spin performance and props:

The same dancer in her new band in Ghawazee style:
*


More ATS & Folkloric Style bellydance:



Tribal Fusion
Vintage Zafira Dance Company

Tribal Fusion began to break off from ATS. ATS was Improvisational, but Tribal Fusion brought back choreography since many of the dancers had backgrounds in Jazz, Ballet, and Popping & Locking. 

2 of my very personal favorites back in the day were Zafira which incorporated a lot of dance moves & dance vocabulary from India, and The Indigo.

Vintage Zafira Dance:




The Indigo Bellydance Company:

My other top favorite vintage dance company/troop was The Indigo Belly Dance Company. The Indigo was probably the most influential and the most famous. It has started and grew with the belly Dance Super Stars, until 3 dancers remained, and they did several shows with burlesque style comedy which even mixed in elements from Road Shows & Vaudeville like "Yard Dogs Road Show" and "Beats Antique" as well as real like Balkan Brass Bands, and authentic Gypsy moves.

They  had incredible zilling dance numbers that blew my mind with such precision, and a lot of quirky off the wall comedy, often with real bottles of wine, or liquor, but also mixed in pop culture, glam, fantasy, and all manner of eclectic fusion. They often made their own costumes from scratch, or borrowed pieces of costume bits from their friends.

They even started belly dancing wearing boots and heels, when most Tribal dance was done barefoot or in sandals. They also had their own small film as they were also heavily inspired by antique Silent Films:




And, since we're at it, because I KNOW it's gonna come up eventually, here's some pop culture songs from Europe: